The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-09
MADE FROM COAL TAR.
Some of the Comm ercial Products from
the Commonest of Cartoons.
an. ID:

From the Pittsb,ng Dispatch,
$50 you eat coal, do you" said smart
high school girl, in Hagans few nights ago,
to the beardless young man with a high
collar who was buying the ice cream.
Jaw, eat coal9 What do you mean, Miss
Ethel" replied the unsophisticated youth
with establishment.
"Why, | see that you take vanilla flavor
ing" replied the high school girl with a
smile.
''Weally, Miss Ethel, don't aw, exactly
understand YOU" the young man with the
high collar responded
"Why, vanilla fiavoring is made almost
entirely from coal tar" said the smart high
school girl, and she was just starting with
"Why, we learned all that in our chemistry
class last" when the fire bell commenced
ringing, and she stopped for some reason or
other, and an inventory of all she knew was
lost. The vanilla idea was a good one and
a reporter asked DIR. +. l.. Slocum, the
chemist, about it.
SIS vanilla extract a product of coal tara"
said Dr. Slocum. "Why, of course it is,
and better article is furnished from coal
tar than from the bean itself. Vanilla is
made from tolulo, one of the products of
coal tar 1t is used for flavoring ice cream
and confectionery, and is A chemically pure
not
"There are a good many products from
coal that the majority of people know moth
ing Of" continued DR.. Slocum "Their
number will go into the thousands, and re-
search in this particular branch of inorganic
chemistry is bringing new and rich rewards
to scientists every year. One of the hydro
carbous distinctly produced from coal tar is
benzole This is the base of magenta, red
aud h1Y1a cnlorinU tnattArS and Of tba oil IF
bitter almonds. This oil formerly came en-
tirely from the vegetable product from
which it takes its name; but now it is to a
large extent made from benzole, and q
chemically pure product is secured. The
vegetable oil of bitter almonds contains a
certain amount of prussic acid, which is
poisonous substance.
"Toluene or tolulo is another product
from coal tar, which is the base of a great
many chemicals Benzoic acid, which used
to be made almost entirely from plants, is
now readily made from toluene Carbolic
acid is another product of tolulO. The latter
is a colorless fluid with smell very much
like crude petroleum, while carbolic acid
and salicylic acid, two of its products, are
far from being sweet smelling compounds.
Yet this same tolulo is the basis OF a num-
Der of very fragrant products. Winter
green oil, much purer than from the plant,
and generally preferred by confectioners
and others who use it, is one; oil of CHINA
mon, ciunamic acid, oil Of cloves are among
the middle products which are in great de-
mand."
AS yet the products of coal tar have not
been made use of for medicines to any great
extent, except as disinfectants, but, from
experiments now going on, it is hoped to
produce pure quinine from chinolene, one
of the coal tar products, and scientists say
that it is only question of time when all
alkaloids known, ard probably others not
now known, will be made from coal tar.
1t would take good-sized book to even
begin to give an idea of the commercial
products alone of coal tar Nearly every
known color, except cochineal red and indi-
go blue, are made, and the latter was pro-
duced after nine wears of experiment by the
eminent German scientist Dyer, Of Munich.
but the manufacture was 50 expensive that
il has never been done except for scientific
purposes. The logwood and madden dyes of
our graidmothers' days are rarely seen in
the market now, owing TO the cheapness
with which they are manufactured. Red
ink, which formerly was made almost ex-
clusively from carnine, is now made from
eosine, one of the numerous coal tar pro-
geny.